BEIJING - China's spending on information technology (IT) will grow 10 percent year on year to reach over 2.21 trillion yuan (about $346.1 billion) in 2021, according to an industrial report.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has propelled the upgrade of the internet economy and promoted the development of tele-medicare and tele-education in the country, a report released by global market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said.

The Chinese government started implementing its 14th Five-Year Plan this year, which will drive growth in its spending on IT in the coming years, the IDC said.

The Yangtze River Delta region, home to the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui as well as Shanghai municipality, will see their IT spending reach over 518 billion yuan in 2021, the data showed.